Organic Standards in question in USA for Hydroponics

Proponents of organic certification being exclusive to soil-based agriculture, as opposed to hydroponics and aquaponics, were left frustrated by the National Organic Standard Board (NOSB) meeting in Denver last week when the board decided not to vote on the eligibility of hydroponic farming for at least another six months.

“The NOSB decided this was something so fundamental to the organics industry, they want everyone participating in the policy developing process for how to handle container and hydroponic growing systems,” Lee Frankel, executive director for the Coalition for Sustainable Organics told the Packer.

Currently, hydroponic and aquaponic farming methods are eligible for the USDA organic certification despite using no soil—a point many members of the organic industry say is significant because soil plays a huge part of the process of becoming an organic producer. Not only is cleaning up soil and ensuring that it’s free from agricultural runoff, banned pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers, critical to the quality of the food, but it’s also vital to the environment and ecosystems connected to it.

Read the full article http://www.organicauthority.com/confusion-over-hydroponics-grows-at-national-organic-standards-board-meeting/ –